We Are Young Money received generally favorable reviews from
music critics who found the quality of the rappers' talents below average. At
Metacritic, which assigns a
normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an
average score of 63, based on 8 reviews. Steve 'Flash' Juon of RapReviews praised the production by Kane Beatz and Tha Bizness for providing the necessary energy but found the album filled with more Lil Wayne and less of his newly signed roster than needed, saying that "For the most part the charisma of Lil Wayne and Drake carries
We Are Young Money even when the actual content does not. Occasionally Jae Millz or Mack Maine upstage everyone with a line or two but odds are if you buy
We Are Young Money you're a Lil Wayne fan."
Pitchfork writer Ryan Dombal said that Drake and Nicki Minaj elevate the material that contains high quality production, saying that "Along with its top tier talents, what keeps
WAYM from slogging along is a stylistic diversity and a selection of beats that sometimes borders on phenomenal."
XXL contributor Chris Yuscavage praised the album for allowing new rappers to deliver workmanlike lyrics that rarely happen in similar projects, saying that "
We Are Young Money—the first group project from Lil Wayne's Young Money Entertainment—actually manages to help the YM roster make a solid first impression." Joshua Errett of
NOW found Minaj the only standout rapper on the record because of her idiosyncratic delivery, saying that "Her nonsensical punchlines and train-wreck flow have been accurately described as
Lynchian - kooky and captivating."
The A.V. Clubs Nathan Rabin found the album's lyrical content and roster of rappers tiring and lacking in staying power, concluding that "
Money is pure bubblegum, the kind of instantly disposable pop ephemera listeners forget about while it's still playing." Kathy Iandoli of
HipHopDX found the record too Wayne-heavy and doesn't give enough time for the new rappers to leave an impression, saying that "[T]he problem here is that unlike past posse introductory albums (see
Wu-Tang Clan's
Enter The 36 Chambers), there isn't a level playing field where everyone has an equal opportunity to become a star. The individual successes of Wayne, Drake, and Nicki alone make a compilation like this too late for them and too early for the rest." Christian Hoard of
Rolling Stone felt the album lacked balance in showcasing new artists, saying that "It's inconsistent, veering from Drake (always solid, but distracted here) to very average MCs like Gudda Gudda." Ashante Infantry of the
Toronto Star said that despite appearances from Drake and Nicki Minaj, the rest of the label roster proved mediocre in delivering verses, saying that "[I]t's difficult to establish identity in an ensemble cast and even tougher with the limited, profane agenda – money, groupies, cars – outlined in songs like 'Fuck Da Bullshit' and 'New Shit'." == Commercial performance ==